Fri 3rd July - 76. Wow!

How many times have you said the word wow? Maybe you said wow when you were surprised by some news. Maybe you said wow when you looked at a view. Maybe you said wow when you read the heading of this devotion?
In this morning’s reading there is a wow moment.

Mark 9:14-29

14 When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. 15 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.*
‘What are you arguing with them about?’ He asked.
17 A man in the crowd answered, ‘Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.’
19 ‘You unbelieving generation,’ Jesus replied, ‘how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.’
20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, ‘How long has he been like this?’
‘From childhood,’ he answered. 22 ‘It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.’
23 ‘“If you can”?’ said Jesus. ‘Everything is possible for one who believes.’*
24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, ‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!’*
25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, He rebuked the impure spirit. ‘You deaf and mute spirit,’ he said, ‘I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.’*
26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, ‘He’s dead.’ 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.*
28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, ‘Why couldn’t we drive it out?’*
29 He replied, ‘This kind can come out only by prayer.’*

When I write these devotions I pray, read the passage, have a few thoughts, dip into the odd commentary but this morning I read this story and I put my self in the shoes of the father. It must have been so heartbreaking for him (and his wife) to see their son trapped by this spirit that had possessed him and robbed him of a normal life. We are told that this spirit robbed the son of speech, threw him to the ground, made him convulse, foam at the mouth, gnash his teeth and made him rigid. The spirit also took the boy to fire or water to try and kill him!
When we read the story and think of the poor boy and the parents, it is heartbreaking.
The wow moment of course is when Jesus says these words - ‘I command you (the evil spirit), come out of him and never enter him again.’ The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, ‘He’s dead.’ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
Wow - this is the same Jesus that we pray to today.
He does many wow things - just look at you! Look who he has made (in his image), he has called you from darkness to light and you are now a child of the King.
If that doesn’t wow you, I don’t know what will!

Have a good weekend - wowed by Jesus and all He has done for you.
Much love
Tim

Thurs 2nd July - #75. Waiting

“_Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord_” (Psalm 27v14).

Waiting is hard; waiting is difficult; waiting is frustrating. At the beginning of lockdown our dishwasher broke down. Then a little later our oven broke down. Then our washing machine broke down…. All first world problems I know, but very annoying. And trying to get someone to come and repair all three, let alone one, during lockdown, was er… difficult. A lot of waiting was involved. Finally after 3 months the repair guy came round last Tuesday and repaired the washing machine, but had to order parts for the washer and cooker… and is coming back today… anytime between 0800hrs and 1800hrs… more waiting, and waiting has not been easy!!!! Nor is it today!!!! Diana Ross like “I’m still waiting ooh, ooh”!!!

Having run out of exclamation marks I am now going to use a question mark. How easy do you find waiting? And what about waiting on the LORD? But this is what we must do, this is what the Psalmist tells us to do. We have to wait God’s timing for many things in our personal life, family life, church life and national life. Our timetable is different, we have an amazon prime mindset of same day or next day delivery. But with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. He has his own timetable. Now of course, being good Christian people, we acknowledge this; but oh boy it is hard and difficult to wait on the Lord for what we would like to come to pass.

No wonder the Psalmist says “_be strong and take heart_”. We can easily lose heart and fail in strength. But let’s remind ourselves that:

God never is before his time
And never is behind.

Happy waiting!?!?!?!?!?

Love from Paul

Wed 1st July - #74. Ain’t no mountain high enough?

Tom Wright (former Bishop of Durham) writes this -

“Science teachers never tire, so I’m told, of the moment when a child first looks into a microscope. What up until then had seemed a boring little speck of dirt can suddenly become full of pattern, colour and interest. The child will never look at things the same way again; everything now has the potential to be more than it seems.

The same thing happens elsewhere. Telescopes transform the night sky into a world of awe and power. A good actor can turn an apparently insignificant line into a profound and moving statement of beauty and truth.

Take those quite common experiences and move them up a few notches on the scale of fact and experience. The story of Jesus’ ‘transformation’ or ‘transfiguration’ describes what seems to have been an actual event, but an event in which the deepest significance of everyday reality suddenly and overwhelmingly confronted Peter, James and John”.

Lets read the next instalment in Mark’s gospel -

Mark 9

After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with Him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There He was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. 4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.

5 Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters— one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ 6 (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)

7 Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: ‘This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to Him!’

8 Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.

9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what ‘rising from the dead’ meant.

11 And they asked him, ‘Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?’

12 Jesus replied, ‘To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? 13 But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him.’

This morning consider these questions -

How has this scripture this morning confirmed Jesus’ authority when He says that:

* he must die?

* we must take up our cross if we are truly to follow Him?

* what will this look like for you today?

Much love

Tim

Tues 30th June - #73. Comfort in life and death

On January 19th, 1563 the Heidelberg Catechism was published. Today this may sound like a Craft Beer or another film about the middle ages, but it is a brilliant summary of the Christian Faith. It was written by two young men Zacharius Ursinus, twenty-eight years of age and professor of theology at Heidelberg University, and Caspar Olevianus, twenty-six years old. With the help of other theologians at Heidelberg they put a beautiful thing together that has enriched disciples of Jesus for the past 457 years.

Here is the first question and answer in the catechism:

1. Q. _What is your only comfort in life and death_?

A. That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil. He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, all things must work together for my salvation. Therefore, by His Holy Spirit He also assures me of eternal life and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for Him.

Some points to ponder from that amazing answer.

> I belong in my life and my death to Jesus!

> Jesus has paid the price for my sins – all of them!

> I am set free from the power of the devil

> My Father preserves my life

> The Spirit assures me of eternal life

> The Spirit makes me willing to live for the Lord

Tis enough to make your heart sing, even during these confusing times we live in.

Love from Paul

Mon 29th June - #72. A tough call

I love working with other Christians from outside my circle. Whilst working with the schools’ work in Kingston we had the opportunity to work alongside some visitors from ‘across the pond’. The week was great, we had packed out lunch clubs with a ‘Grill a Christian’ type events and one day we had a dance workshop and I was made to look like Michael Jackson with my moonwalking.

On the Thursday evening we had a big youth event for the local youth and pupils from the schools we were working in. The event started well with drama and some songs and then it was time for the guest preacher from the Wild West to give a ‘Gospel talk’’. At the end of the talk I felt uneasy because the gospel he was presenting and the call to discipleship was much different to the the one that Jesus presents.

The call on that evening was ‘come to Jesus and your problems will half’. Other quotes from that evening was ‘Jesus is the way and so he loves you and you will succeed at your exams if you come to him tonight’.

Compare these promises to the promises that Jesus actually said in Mark 8.

Mark 8:34-38

34 Then he called the crowd to him along with His disciples and said: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when He comes in His Father’s glory with the holy angels.’

Often I wish these words were not in the gospel because it reveals the real me and it’s not good news!

Here are 10 questions to ask yourself this morning -

1. Do I deny myself?

2. Do I take up my cross?

3. Am I following Jesus?

4. How much care do I have for my soul?

5. Do I value my soul above the things on offer in this world?

6. Am I ashamed of the Lord?

7. Do I find Jesus’ words an embarrassment?

8. Do I believe Jesus’ words?

9. Do I forget that Jesus is coming back?

10. Do I believe that today is a new day and I have a Saviour who knows how weak I am and yet calls me back to Him in repentance and faith?

As we heard yesterday in one of the songs “God is for us and he holds us in his love” (God is for us - CityAlight)